St Paul’s Cathedral opening hours are 8:30 am Monday to Saturday for sightseeing, with last entry usually at 4 pm and the building closing to sightseers 30 minutes later, per the official visit page. Google Maps shows 8:30 am to 4:30 pm on those days. St Paul’s Cathedral opening hours on Sunday are for worship, apart from a summer window for the Dome Galleries. If you have not bought yet, my comparison of St Paul’s Cathedral tickets shows every option from $36.
St Paul’s Cathedral Opening Hours
Here are the St Paul’s Cathedral opening hours Google Maps lists, which match the official Monday to Saturday sightseeing pattern but differ on Sunday.
Day
Hours per Google Maps
Monday
8:30 am to 4:30 pm
Tuesday
8:30 am to 4:30 pm
Wednesday
8:30 am to 4:30 pm
Thursday
8:30 am to 4:30 pm
Friday
8:30 am to 4:30 pm
Saturday
8:30 am to 4:30 pm
Sunday
8 am to 6 pm
The official site is the one to trust for St Paul’s Cathedral opening hours. It says sightseeing opens at 8:30 am Monday to Saturday, last entry is usually 4 pm, and the Dome Galleries open at 9:30 am with last entry at 4:15 pm. It also warns that opening and closing times can change and points to its What’s On calendar. The Sunday line in the Google Maps opening hours most likely reflects services, since the official visit page gives no Sunday sightseeing hours.
Is St Paul’s Cathedral Open to the Public
The short version of the opening hours for the public is Monday to Saturday for sightseeing and every day for worship.
The longer version: yes, with a catch. The building is a working cathedral, so it is open to everyone for worship and to ticket holders for sightseeing. Services are free to attend at any time within the St Paul’s Cathedral opening hours for worship. Sightseeing tickets cover the floor, the crypt and the Dome Galleries, with multimedia guides, per the official ticket page. Infants aged 0 to 5, disabled visitors with one carer and Friends of St Paul’s get in free. Everyone else pays, from 24 pounds for an adult in the summer period of 25 June to 1 September 2026 and 27 pounds outside it.
St Paul’s Cathedral Visiting Hours
St Paul’s Cathedral visiting hours depend on what you want to see, so the opening hours differ for the floor, crypt and galleries. The floor and crypt follow the 8:30 am opening time, while the Dome Galleries open an hour later at 9:30 am. If your goal is the view from the top, plan to be at the door by 3:45 pm at the latest, because 4:15 pm is when you must be admitted to the galleries, not when you can still be queuing. The Crypt Cafe by Benugo is open Monday to Saturday 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday 11 am to 4:30 pm, entered through the north west Crypt door without a ticket, per the official visit page.
Is St Paul’s Cathedral Open Today
The honest answer to whether the Cathedral is open today is on the calendar, not on this page, because St Paul’s Cathedral opening hours can change on the day. The official What’s On page shows the day’s services and any change to sightseeing, and the visit page says plainly that times can change. Before you travel, check three things about the opening hours: the day of the week, whether a service or special event is on, and the last entry time. If you booked on GetYourGuide, the voucher can be cancelled up to 24 hours ahead for a full refund, so a plan change costs nothing if you move early.
St Paul Cathedral Mass Times
St Paul’s is an Anglican cathedral, the seat of the Bishop of London per Wikipedia, so the main services are Eucharist and Evensong rather than Catholic Mass, although many people search for mass times. The official pages I read do not list service times. They point to the What’s On calendar and a Worship with us page, and they say it is free to attend the Cathedral for services. I can’t quote a time, and these are not part of the sightseeing opening hours, so check those pages for your date. A service is worship, not a tour, and it can sit outside the normal St Paul’s Cathedral opening hours, so sightseeing during one may be limited.
St Paul’s Cathedral Shop Opening Hours
The official visit page gives no opening hours for the Cathedral shop, only a link to the online shop at stpaulsshop.co.uk, so I can’t state shop hours. The Crypt Cafe is the one place with published opening hours, listed above. If you need the shop, ask at the information desk on arrival or check the official site on the morning you go.
Steps to Top of St Paul’s Cathedral
The Dome Galleries are reached by stairs only. The official planning page lists 257 steps to the Whispering Gallery, 376 to the Stone Gallery and 528 in total to the Golden Gallery. Children must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 or over in the galleries. A reviewer of the entry ticket wrote that the steps are a bit of a challenge but totally doable, and another wrote that 528 steps later the view from the top is outstanding.
Best Time to Visit St Paul’s Cathedral
The official site does not name a quietest time within the opening hours, so I can only offer what the data shows. One reviewer of the entry ticket wrote that arriving early is a plus because it is not crowded yet, and the building opens at 8:30 am. For the view from the dome, daylight matters. Per Open-Meteo data for 2025, which matters because the opening hours are short in winter, London had about 12.9 hours of sunshine a day in June and 3.5 in December and January, and November had 16 rainy days against 3 in March and April. The Cathedral closes earlier than sunset in summer, so evening light is not an option for the galleries.
“Arriving early is definitely a plus because it's not crowded yet. The church is fantastic, and the audio guide is super customizable depending on what you're interested in.”
— GetYourGuide reviewer
How to Get to St Paul’s Cathedral
The nearest station on Google Maps is St Paul’s, about 130 metres from the Cathedral, roughly a 2 minute walk by my estimate (straight line times 1.3 at 4.8 km/h). Mansion House is about 6 minutes, Blackfriars about 7, Cannon Street about 10 and Bank about 11. I did not verify line names, so check the Transport for London planner. The main visitor entrance is on St Paul’s Churchyard, EC4M 8AD. The GetYourGuide listing says visitors needing step-free access should use the North Transept entrance, but the official pages I read did not name one, so confirm on the accessibility page.
What to Know Before You Go
Bags: maximum 45 cm by 30 cm by 25 cm, including handles, wheels and pockets, and there is no cloakroom. Stasher luggage storage is linked from the official page. None of this changes the St Paul’s Cathedral opening hours, but it decides whether you get in at the door.
Photography: the official site has a filming and photography guidance page, which I did not read in full, so check it before you take photos or video.
Dress code: I found no dress code on the pages I read. It is a place of worship, so I’d dress comfortably and respectfully.
Time: the official site gives no recommended time. The GetYourGuide boat bundles list 2 hours for the visit, which is a practical guide, not a rule. With closing at 4:30 pm, a visit that starts after 2 pm leaves little room for the galleries, so fit your plan to the St Paul’s Cathedral opening hours above.
Hours: the St Paul’s Cathedral opening hours can change, so check the calendar on the day.
Galleries: stairs only, and not advised for people with mobility problems or a fear of heights.
The ticket I’d book for most visitors is the entry ticket with its multimedia guide.
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral Entry Ticket
★4.7 (11,596 reviews)
24-hour ticket
Free cancellation
My pick: The ticket I'd book for most visitors: $36, 4.7 from 11,596 reviews, floor, crypt and galleries with a multimedia guide.
What you get, where you meet, what reviewers say
Included
✓ Access to the cathedral floor, crypt, and galleries
✓ Multimedia guide in 9 languages
✓ Option to join guided tours and talks (there are limited spots and you must register on arrival)
Meeting point: Entry is at St Paul's Cathedral, St Paul's Churchyard, London, EC4M 8AD. Those requiring a step-free entrance should use the North Transept entrance. London EC4M 8AD, UK
Duration: 1 day
Cancellation: Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund
“Great experience steeped in history another box ticked.” – GetYourGuide review
The official visit page says sightseeing opens at 8:30 am Monday to Saturday, with last entry usually at 4 pm and sightseeing ending 30 minutes later. The Dome Galleries open at 9:30 am with last entry at 4:15 pm. Google Maps shows 8:30 am to 4:30 pm on those days. Times can change, so check the What's On calendar for your date.
Is St Paul's Cathedral open on Sundays?+
For services, yes, and they are free to attend. For sightseeing, the official planning page said the three Dome Galleries would be open on Sundays from 15 March to 25 October 2026, and I found no Sunday sightseeing hours outside that window. Google Maps shows Sunday as 8 am to 6 pm, which I read as the service day.
What time is the last entry at St Paul's Cathedral?+
Last entry for sightseeing is usually at 4 pm, per the official visit page, and sightseeing ends 30 minutes later. Dome Galleries last entry is 4:15 pm. Because security and queues come first, I would arrive well before those times.
How many steps are there to the top of St Paul's Cathedral?+
The official planning page lists 257 steps to the Whispering Gallery, 376 to the Stone Gallery and 528 to the Golden Gallery. The galleries are stairs only, and the Cathedral advises people with medical conditions, mobility difficulties or concerns about heights or confined spaces not to attempt them.
Can I bring a bag into St Paul's Cathedral?+
Only a small one. The official visit page sets a maximum of 45 cm by 30 cm by 25 cm including handles, wheels and pockets, and there is no cloakroom. The page links to Stasher for luggage storage nearby, so leave suitcases there.
Are services at St Paul's Cathedral free?+
Yes, whatever the St Paul's Cathedral opening hours for sightseeing say. The official site says it is free to attend the Cathedral for services. It does not list service times on the pages I read, so use the What's On calendar and the Worship with us page for the schedule.
